Chance to have your say on Torfaen school closures

PLANS to close three Torfaen schools will go out to public consultation.

As reported in yesterday’s Argus, Torfaen council cabinet members approved proposals to formally consult on plans to shut Two Locks Nursery School and Kemys Fawr Infants School in Sebastopol, and Pontymoile Primary School in Pontypool, to reduce surplus places.

There is also a proposal to close Pontymoile’s autistic special needs resource base and move pupils to Nant Celyn Primary in Cwmbran.

Pupils from Two Locks Nursery School would also move to Nant Celyn Primary School while Pontymoile pupils would be split between George Street Primary and New Inn Primary.

Children at Kemys Fawr Infants School would move to Griffithstown Primary.

The plans are part of a £257.6 million transformation of the borough’s schools.

The approved proposals will now be open to a six-week consultation process, starting next month.

Torfaen council came up with the proposals after the Welsh Government requested all councils submit plans in 2010 to transform education and tackle issues of ageing school buildings and surplus places.

It needs to reduce surplus places in primary schools to below ten per cent and in secondary schools to below 15 per cent by 2015.

Two Locks has 29 surplus places – a quarter of all places – while Kemys Fawr has 47 – 30 in the primary and 17 in the nursery, representing 32 per cent and 47 per cent respectively.

There are 114 surplus places at Pontymoile Primary – 49 per cent of the total – not including the special needs unit.

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